I'm gonna do my best for a brief write-up, and share a few pictures for my trip from October 14-25th that I took with my wife and 11 month old daughter. My father-in-law also met us in Munich.

First, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to share how I got to this point. I have never owned a BMW before now. Exactly 2 years ago, the first spy-shots of the F30 mule leaked out here, and on other sites. I was getting bored with my ordinary sedan, and for some reason the proportions of the F30 mule caught my eye. I began research BMWs, driving a few, and thinking about how I'd enjoy one for my next car purchase. I knew all along that the F30 wouldn't really be available until mid-2012, but that gave me plenty of time to plan and save money. ED was the only option! About a year ago, the 1M buzz really started heating up. I had recently driven a 1er, and thought this could be a really good fit for me. As soon as the official announcement came out, I placed a deposit with my dealer, and began planning the ED trip with fever. As the months rolled by (this spring), I started to realize that getting a 1M, and being able to be choosy about my travel plan timeline was not going to pan out. I had mentally committed to a 1M, and still think it's an awesome car. But, I was very much intrigued by both the M3 DCT option, and the S65. After much debate, I decided to go whole-hog with a loaded E92 M3, and put a deposit down in May.

Once I found out that the earliest pickup for the MY2012 was October 17th, I set my sights on that date. I figured weather would be decent, and I was already getting a bit impatient waiting so long! Hours spent researching and making arrangements paid off with the following itinerary:

Day 0: Leave Dallas to Frankfurt
Day 1: Arrive in Frankfurt, take ICE to Munich
Day 2: Enjoy Munich, visit BMW Museum
Day 3: Factory tour and car delivery
Day 4: Head south to Fussen and Innsbruck
Day 5: Drive through Alps toward Switzerland, stay in Davos
Day 6: Drive to Lake Como Italy, arrive
Day 7: Lake Como
Day 8: Lake Como
Day 9: Leave Lake Como for Freiburg, Germany
Day 10: Short detour to Colmar, France then Freiburg
Day 11: Head to Frankfurt, drop off car
Day 12: Fly out of Frankfurt to Dallas

And on to the pictures!
We stayed 3 nights at the NH Muenchen Deutscher Kaiser. It was a fantastic hotel. This is the view from our balcony, BMW HQ in sight!

We were able to spend a full day exploring Munich, the Marienplatz city center was quite nice.

My father-in-law and I decide to spend the afternoon by visiting the BMW Museum. Somehow, I got in my head that the Welt/HQ/Museum was at the Olympic park stop on the U-bahn, so we took the U1 train to the last destination. This was NOT right. We got off the U1 thinking we should be close. It took quite a bit of effort and walking to realize just how far were were away. Maybe 2 miles! We did get to enjoy a nice walk in beautiful weather.

THIS is the U-bahn stop you need to get to!

We got complimentary tickets to the museum. It was wonderful, and I wish I could have spent the entire day roaming around. 2 hours was not enough for me.

The following day (Monday Oct 17th) we went back for the car delivery. We arrived at the Welt in time for the 11:30am factory tour. Of course pictures are not allowed, but we really enjoyed it. We got to see all facets of the E90/E91 production.

When that was over, we headed to the Welt. What a place!

The Welt has a special room for BMW Individual. They had a "Steinway" Individual 7-series. Inside the room, a man was playing a Steinway piano, and another playing trumpet. I took my daughter inside and we sat in the comfy Eames chair and listened to music.

I still had some time to kill before delivery. Headed to the factory tour earlier in the day, I noticed a trio of F30s tucked beside the HQ and the factory. They were just revealed 3 days prior. I wanted to get a better look at the F30. After all, it was the inspiration for this entire journey. The cars looked great!

I headed back to the Welt, to meet up with my family for delivery.

The Premium Lounge is fantastic, as expected. Plenty of room to relax, eat, drink and just enjoy the moment.

The Premium Lounge has a nice kid/family area. We decide my daughter needs some additional distraction, so we put her to work in her first BMW

As delivery time neared, we met with our Delivery Specialist. Christian Maximilian Hellwig. He goes by Max! Max takes us down to the car.

Taking delivery of the car was of course a great experience. I can't wait to do it again! We leave the car in the Welt underground garage for the evening, and head back to the hotel and out to dinner.

The next morning, we head to Fussen and the Neuschwanstein Castle. The weather was absolutely perfect!

A grocery store in Pfunds, Austria

Somewhere in Austria

We take a wonderful drive through the Alps towards Davos, Switzerland. It is getting cold! Davos is the highest city in Europe. We notice a light rain/mist starting to fall in the evening. We wake up in the morning, to this:

We wait until the snow melts, then continue south towards Italy through Switzerland:

At Lake Como, we stay at the Hotel Il Perlo Panorama. The room was only average, but the view from our room was incredible.

On Saturday, the hotel leaves a note in our room. The road to the hotel will be closed from 9am to 2pm for a rally road race! It was incredible to see the cars zoom by, and take the corners so fast.

My car was not invited to participate

After Italy, we headed north back through Switzerland, through the Gotthard Tunnel. We took a short stop in Colmar, France then on to Freiburg Germany. Final destination was Frankfurt, where I dropped the car at EH Harms with 796 miles on the odometer.

I met a few very nice members from this board, who were also picking up cars. I think it is safe to say that a great time was had by all. I look forward to doing PCD when the car arrives from Germany.

BMW really treats you like royalty when you do ED. I cannot imagine buying a car any other way. And just to go to Munich/BMW HQ and see all the things in real life that are typically just internet pictures on the computer.... The F10 M5 driving slowly right past you (incredible!), the F30, the E46 CSL, so many things are right there in front of you.

SamS, thanks for the link! Man it looks like you had the experience of a lifetime. How did it feel to see 000002 miles on the odometer? Thanks for sharing!

I was actually thinking it should have only had 1 mile on the odometer. HA!

I've always been a "new car" type of guy, so getting to experience delivery of the car this close to its birthplace was such a treat. The sights, sounds and smells of picking up a new car at the Welt is intoxicating.

I was actually thinking it should have only had 1 mile on the odometer. HA!

I've always been a "new car" type of guy, so getting to experience delivery of the car this close to its birthplace was such a treat. The sights, sounds and smells of picking up a new car at the Welt is intoxicating.

I can imagine. I wanted to do that as well but my wife is having a baby soon and that wouldn't have been the best decision for me I jus picked up my car last Monday...with 2 miles on the odometer

I can imagine. I wanted to do that as well but my wife is having a baby soon and that wouldn't have been the best decision for me I jus picked up my car last Monday...with 2 miles on the odometer

Congrats on the new car! I thought very hard about the 335is. The front end, lights and rear bumper are terrific on your car.

Jerez is a great color, in person. Most of the time, it looks rather blue to the naked eye. Which I think is wonderful. Maybe it's just my eyes trained to look for the blue hues? Either way, the color has wonderful shades.

I'm gonna do my best for a brief write-up, and share a few pictures for my trip from October 14-25th that I took with my wife and 11 month old daughter. My father-in-law also met us in Munich.

First, if you'll indulge me, I'd like to share how I got to this point. I have never owned a BMW before now. Exactly 2 years ago, the first spy-shots of the F30 mule leaked out here, and on other sites. I was getting bored with my ordinary sedan, and for some reason the proportions of the F30 mule caught my eye. I began research BMWs, driving a few, and thinking about how I'd enjoy one for my next car purchase. I knew all along that the F30 wouldn't really be available until mid-2012, but that gave me plenty of time to plan and save money. ED was the only option! About a year ago, the 1M buzz really started heating up. I had recently driven a 1er, and thought this could be a really good fit for me. As soon as the official announcement came out, I placed a deposit with my dealer, and began planning the ED trip with fever. As the months rolled by (this spring), I started to realize that getting a 1M, and being able to be choosy about my travel plan timeline was not going to pan out. I had mentally committed to a 1M, and still think it's an awesome car. But, I was very much intrigued by both the M3 DCT option, and the S65. After much debate, I decided to go whole-hog with a loaded E92 M3, and put a deposit down in May.

Once I found out that the earliest pickup for the MY2012 was October 17th, I set my sights on that date. I figured weather would be decent, and I was already getting a bit impatient waiting so long! Hours spent researching and making arrangements paid off with the following itinerary:

Day 0: Leave Dallas to Frankfurt
Day 1: Arrive in Frankfurt, take ICE to Munich
Day 2: Enjoy Munich, visit BMW Museum
Day 3: Factory tour and car delivery
Day 4: Head south to Fussen and Innsbruck
Day 5: Drive through Alps toward Switzerland, stay in Davos
Day 6: Drive to Lake Como Italy, arrive
Day 7: Lake Como
Day 8: Lake Como
Day 9: Leave Lake Como for Freiburg, Germany
Day 10: Short detour to Colmar, France then Freiburg
Day 11: Head to Frankfurt, drop off car
Day 12: Fly out of Frankfurt to Dallas

And on to the pictures!
We stayed 3 nights at the NH Muenchen Deutscher Kaiser. It was a fantastic hotel. This is the view from our balcony, BMW HQ in sight!

We were able to spend a full day exploring Munich, the Marienplatz city center was quite nice.

My father-in-law and I decide to spend the afternoon by visiting the BMW Museum. Somehow, I got in my head that the Welt/HQ/Museum was at the Olympic park stop on the U-bahn, so we took the U1 train to the last destination. This was NOT right. We got off the U1 thinking we should be close. It took quite a bit of effort and walking to realize just how far were were away. Maybe 2 miles! We did get to enjoy a nice walk in beautiful weather.

THIS is the U-bahn stop you need to get to!

We got complimentary tickets to the museum. It was wonderful, and I wish I could have spent the entire day roaming around. 2 hours was not enough for me.

The following day (Monday Oct 17th) we went back for the car delivery. We arrived at the Welt in time for the 11:30am factory tour. Of course pictures are not allowed, but we really enjoyed it. We got to see all facets of the E90/E91 production.

When that was over, we headed to the Welt. What a place!

The Welt has a special room for BMW Individual. They had a "Steinway" Individual 7-series. Inside the room, a man was playing a Steinway piano, and another playing trumpet. I took my daughter inside and we sat in the comfy Eames chair and listened to music.

I still had some time to kill before delivery. Headed to the factory tour earlier in the day, I noticed a trio of F30s tucked beside the HQ and the factory. They were just revealed 3 days prior. I wanted to get a better look at the F30. After all, it was the inspiration for this entire journey. The cars looked great!

I headed back to the Welt, to meet up with my family for delivery.

The Premium Lounge is fantastic, as expected. Plenty of room to relax, eat, drink and just enjoy the moment.

The Premium Lounge has a nice kid/family area. We decide my daughter needs some additional distraction, so we put her to work in her first BMW

As delivery time neared, we met with our Delivery Specialist. Christian Maximilian Hellwig. He goes by Max! Max takes us down to the car.

Taking delivery of the car was of course a great experience. I can't wait to do it again! We leave the car in the Welt underground garage for the evening, and head back to the hotel and out to dinner.

The next morning, we head to Fussen and the Neuschwanstein Castle. The weather was absolutely perfect!

A grocery store in Pfunds, Austria

Somewhere in Austria

We take a wonderful drive through the Alps towards Davos, Switzerland. It is getting cold! Davos is the highest city in Europe. We notice a light rain/mist starting to fall in the evening. We wake up in the morning, to this:

We wait until the snow melts, then continue south towards Italy through Switzerland:

At Lake Como, we stay at the Hotel Il Perlo Panorama. The room was only average, but the view from our room was incredible.

On Saturday, the hotel leaves a note in our room. The road to the hotel will be closed from 9am to 2pm for a rally road race! It was incredible to see the cars zoom by, and take the corners so fast.

My car was not invited to participate

After Italy, we headed north back through Switzerland, through the Gotthard Tunnel. We took a short stop in Colmar, France then on to Freiburg Germany. Final destination was Frankfurt, where I dropped the car at EH Harms with 796 miles on the odometer.

I met a few very nice members from this board, who were also picking up cars. I think it is safe to say that a great time was had by all. I look forward to doing PCD when the car arrives from Germany.

Thanks for reading!

Sam--great pics. Glad you had a great experience. I can imagine the feeling walking down the stairs and seeing your new ride on the turntable. Everytime I get in mine, I still have the same excitement. Enjoy it and maybe we will get a chance to meet at a meet back in Texas when I get back to the States.

Thanks a bunch. Fortunately the weather has not turned bad here yet so I can still drive it the way it was intended to be driven. Probably be putting on winter tires soon so the fun will be put on hold till the spring. Sure wish I was back in Texas where I wouldn't have to switch out tires.